Individuals frequently need to share their personal information with third parties. This information may include sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, healthcare information, etc. Typically, personal information is shared directly with the third party with the assumption that the third party is entitled to receive the information and will protect the information. Unfortunately, however, misuse and theft of personal information provided to third parties is becoming more and more common, resulting in significant harm to the individual who provided the personal information.
Additionally, the amount of personal and private information that a given individual must maintain is growing at a rapid pace, and it is becoming more and more difficult for individuals to manage the increasing volume of data. Various strategies have been developed for maintaining this ever-increasing volume, including mechanisms maintained by users to store the private information. These mechanisms do not solve the problem of information previously shared with a third party being accessed later without permission, nor do they provide any means of determining if the entity requesting information is entitled to receive the information.